Box and Fiddle
Year 21 No 06
March 1998
Christine Hunter
An Appreciation
by Alec J. Little
With the 24th Musselburgh Festival only a few weeks away, I would ask you to cast your minds back to the 2nd Festival in 1976 when, under a completely new Committee, the N.A.A.F.C.’s Annual Festival really took off.
At the request of the Association chairman, I appointed an excellent Committee to undertake the task of organizing what was to become a major celebration of all that is good about accordion and fiddle playing. As always, the most important post to fill on any Committee was that of Secretary. I will always be grateful for whatever unseen guidance I received that prompted me to invite Christine Hunter to fill this post.
Christine was a lady with a wealth of experience of Committee work – a founder member of Lockerbie A&F Club, a Principal Teacher pf Mathematics at Dumfries Academy, a dancing teacher, a Church elder and a member of the Community Council in her dearly beloved village of Boreland.
Many, many times Christine would put the brakes on my overzealous ideas. I will never forget her invaluable advice.
In 1982 when it was decided that I needed a ‘zip fastener’, Christine and I decided to ‘retire’ together. We handed the reins over to Norrie and Sheila Williams who very capably continued to expand the Festival over many years until they themselves handed over to the present day Chairman and Secretary, Neil Copland and Margaret Macari.
Even after her retiral from the Committee, Christine was an ever present at Musselburgh Festival such was her love of music and somehow, when I arrive there on 7th March, there will be a tremendous void that will be difficult to accept.
However, life must go on and we must all thank God for Christine – for her knowledge, for her wisdom, for the enthusiasm and for everything she did for our Scottish music.
I would ask you all to spare a special thought for Christine’s sister Cathie. They were constant companions and I am sure that Cathie’s loss will be the most difficult to come to terms with.
We will all miss Christine Hunter so much. The world in general and our music in particular will be much the poorer for her passing.
An Appreciation
by Alec J. Little
With the 24th Musselburgh Festival only a few weeks away, I would ask you to cast your minds back to the 2nd Festival in 1976 when, under a completely new Committee, the N.A.A.F.C.’s Annual Festival really took off.
At the request of the Association chairman, I appointed an excellent Committee to undertake the task of organizing what was to become a major celebration of all that is good about accordion and fiddle playing. As always, the most important post to fill on any Committee was that of Secretary. I will always be grateful for whatever unseen guidance I received that prompted me to invite Christine Hunter to fill this post.
Christine was a lady with a wealth of experience of Committee work – a founder member of Lockerbie A&F Club, a Principal Teacher pf Mathematics at Dumfries Academy, a dancing teacher, a Church elder and a member of the Community Council in her dearly beloved village of Boreland.
Many, many times Christine would put the brakes on my overzealous ideas. I will never forget her invaluable advice.
In 1982 when it was decided that I needed a ‘zip fastener’, Christine and I decided to ‘retire’ together. We handed the reins over to Norrie and Sheila Williams who very capably continued to expand the Festival over many years until they themselves handed over to the present day Chairman and Secretary, Neil Copland and Margaret Macari.
Even after her retiral from the Committee, Christine was an ever present at Musselburgh Festival such was her love of music and somehow, when I arrive there on 7th March, there will be a tremendous void that will be difficult to accept.
However, life must go on and we must all thank God for Christine – for her knowledge, for her wisdom, for the enthusiasm and for everything she did for our Scottish music.
I would ask you all to spare a special thought for Christine’s sister Cathie. They were constant companions and I am sure that Cathie’s loss will be the most difficult to come to terms with.
We will all miss Christine Hunter so much. The world in general and our music in particular will be much the poorer for her passing.